Failure of Comprehension
by cloudismyhero
Summary: Ron and Cho... George and Angelina... Life after school turned out to be a scary time for our heroes, resulting even in the failed attempt at one's own life...A complete overhaul of one of my older works called A Time Of Wonder. RR!


Chapter 1: Scared

Ronald Weasley ran through the rain and muck outside his home. He had just gotten back from work at The Ministry of Magical Creatures, and was eager to get inside his home and rest; especially after dealing with several very nasty Blasted-End Skrewts earlier in the day. Jogging up to the house, he fumbled in his pocket for the house key. In the process of looking for it in the black hole that was Ron's pocket, he discovered some important notes and, for some reason unbeknownst to him, several moldy dog biscuits.

"I've been around Hagrid for too long," Ron noted aloud.

The key was silver and gleamed even in the grey dreariness that was London that day. Long and thin, the skeleton key looked as if it should be housed in a museum rather than shoved in the pocket of a clumsy, bumbling, 24-year old redhead. Intricate designs lined the key's handle; the beauty of which was much lost with the addition of a bright green piece of yarn, obviously used to attract attention to it in when the young wizard could not find it.

Not taking any attention to its immense beauty, Ron jammed the key into the keyhole and turned it sharply. Shoving the door open, he ran into the old house to escape the downpour outside. Upon entering, Ron was instantly bombarded by several magical devices that his roommates had cooked up. An automatic mail organizer pelted him in the face with several envelopes, while the "Comfort Helper" began taking off his shoes while still standing, resulting in Ron falling flat on his face.

He quickly grabbed his wand and pointed it at the inventions, and with a flick of the wrist they stopped trying to assist him in those simplest of tasks. Ron got up off the floor, took off his jacket, and the remaining shoe. Rubbing at his now-sore nose, he walked into the house's main living room, where Cho Chang sat, reading a book.

"Hello, my sweet," Ron said in a romantic tone to the love of his life. Picking up her hand and pressing his lips into her palm, she soon was overcome with a fit of giggles. Then sitting in the big armchair with her, he continued to show his immense interest in the lady. Even after the whispering of sweet-nothings into each others ears, and after she had gone back to her book, Ron still continued to stare at her. Taking in her vast amounts of beauty was quite a task for the young man, but he intended to do so for as long as humanly possible. Longer, if needed.

When Ron slowly brushed a string of black hair away from her eyes, she looked up at him and smiled. That bright, white smile that kept Ron coming to this house everyday. Overcome with love and admiration for his girlfriend, he briskly leaned forward and kissed Cho. Closing her book, she began to kiss him back. And with Ron's hand brushing through her dark hair, they didn't notice the entrance of one of their housemates.

"You're not a very good influence, are you?" Said Ron's brother in a sarcastic tone. As George walked into the living room, Cho and Ron were torn apart, not by the George's words, but by Ron's overactive niece, Hermione. Jumping onto Ron's lap, she began to give them the full details of that day, barely stopping to breathe. Her curly brown hair bounced as she talked, reminding Ron of her namesake.

Shaking the image of his old friend from his head, Ronald picked up his 5-year-old niece mid-sentence. Lifting her high into the air, a smile arose on his face as the little girl giggled and squirmed. He then put her under his arm and began to run through the house, a trail of laughs behind them. Running back into the living room, Ron set Hermione down and noticed the entrance of George's wife.

Angelina Johnson was tall and wiry, but amazingly tough. Long blonde hair tumbled down her shoulders, and her deep blue eyes sent men in a daze. Known in her Hogwarts days for her excellent Quidditch skills, she soon became a wealthy businesswoman come her graduation. She married George very young, at 19, despite everything her family had against the Weasleys. She was soon with child, and when born, the little girl was named after the brilliant witch that they had all befriended in Hogwarts.

"How was work today Angie?" Asked Ron as she walked in.

"What can I say? Lots of fun!" Angelina responded sarcastically, and when out of sight of her little girl, showed her stress by pretending to choke herself. Ron saw this and laughed, and sat back next to Cho, explaining what had happened to her.

George picked up Hermione and took her into the adjoining room in a similar fashion that Ron had just moments ago. After the giggling was out of earshot, Angela entered the room, shutting the door behind her. Making sure that her little girl was safely outside, playing with her father, Angela sat down in a large armchair, head in hands. She looked up and smiled weakly, sending a nervous shiver down Ron's spine.

"George and I have been talking about the situation with Fred, and we both feel that it would be best if he were to stay with us. A little girl may be the perfect cure for him." She said in a soft voice.

She was referring to Fred Weasley, brother to Ron and the twin of George. He had recently attempted to kill himself for reasons unknown to his friends and family. Mysteriously enough though, instead of using a magical form of self-slaughter, he used a muggle method that consisted of slitting the wrists and bleeding to death. Suicide became avoidable when Ron, curious at to the fact that Fred had not been to dinner, walked into his room and caught him mid-act.

Ron got him help, and within minutes of calling emergency, a large white ambulance screamed into their driveway. When they reached the magical hospital, the cuts were quickly taken care of. But after that came his Psychotherapy treatments, something that kept getting extended week after week due to a lack of progress. Fred, however a bright and talented wizard, was incredibly stubborn at times. And he couldn't live alone yet, so they were all looking for somewhere for him to stay.

"Do you really trust him around your child?" Ron had a hard time believing what was coming out of his own lips. He usually trusted Fred with his life, but loved Hermione too much to let her be an experiment to regulate Fred's emotions.

A look of shock covered the face of Angelina. "What are you saying? Are you possibly suggesting that Fred would, no, _could_ possibly harm his niece? Is that what you are saying Ron? Because if it is, you are seriously warped! Maybe it's you who should be going to therapy!" Angelina yelled out loud, causing her face to go red.

"Who should be going to therapy?" Asked Fred. His hair, unlike his twin brother's, was long and shaggy, completely covering his ears and eyes. But where he may have had his hair style different, the color stayed the same shade of bright red as George. The same color as all of the Weasleys as a matter of fact.

Taking a bite out of the apple in his hand, he continued. "'Because if any of you are planning to do so, I should warn you. It's not the most fun place in the world. They're just picking at your brain through a bunch of different tests." Sitting down on the edge of chair where Angela sat, Fred took another bite from his apple. "But the electroshock is great! Sure, it stings a little bit at first, but before too long, you learn to appreciate the thousands of volts traveling through your body." Fred let out a hearty laugh, the only to be given off in the room, and continued on his apple.

Fred's attitude had seriously changed over the past few months. So much so that it scared Ron. For someone to go from a respectable member of the wizarding community to a crazy person attempting murder in the matter of weeks was astounding. And not in any way that was pleasing to the Weasley family.

George walked in, daughter in hands, and saw Fred. Squirming her way out of her father's arms, Hermione ran into the arms of her crazy uncle, hugging him tightly. Fred's face went from dark and scary to full of happiness in a split second.

"Heyo squirt!" Fred said, commencing with the normal round of noogies and such.

"I'm not a squirt!" Hermione retorted loudly. Angelina, Fred, and Hermione all had big bright smiles on their faces. But the remainder of the room couldn't help with several nagging feelings racing through their brains.


End file.
